Rockford-area NBA players: 5 who came before Fred Van Vleet

Matt Trowbridge Staff writer @matttrowbridge

Tuesday

Jul 12, 2016 at 5:17 PMJul 13, 2016 at 10:13 AM

Former Auburn and Wichita State star Fred Van Vleet took another huge step toward being the first Rockford player in 20 years to make it to the NBA when he signed a partially guaranteed multi-year contract with the Toronto Raptors on Monday. Only five other local players have made it to the top level of basketball over the past 50 years. They are:

1. Kim Hughes, 64, spent 25 years in the NBA as a player, coach and scout, most recently as the Portland Trailblazers assistant in charge of coaching the big men from 2011-15. The 6-foot-11 former Freeport star and his twin brother, Kerry, started on the same front line for the Wisconsin Badgers. He was drafted in the third round by the Buffalo Braves in 1974. He played one year in Italy after failing to make the Buffalo team, then averaged 8.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 53 percent shooting as a rookie the next year playing alongside Julius Erving with the ABA's New York Nets.

The Nets joined the NBA the next year and Hughes played five more seasons. Hughes finished with 1,624 career points, 2,367 rebounds, 374 assists, 419 steals and 502 blocked shots. At age 29, he returned to Italy for eight more seasons, before becoming an NBA scout and assistant coach. He was 8-25 as the Los Angeles Clippers interim head coach in 2010. He holds the NBA record for worst career free throw percentage at .333 (62-for-186), although it rises to .397 if you include his one ABA season.

2. Skip Thoren, 73, was an ABA All-Star in 1969, when the 6-foot-10 East graduate averaged 16.7 points and 13.4 rebounds and led the ABA in offensive rebounds for the Miami Floridians. Thoren holds the top two rebounding seasons in Illini history (14.5 and 13.8) and his 22.2 scoring average as a senior ranks fourth in Illinois history. He only played three years as a pro. He was drafted in the fourth round (No. 30 overall) by the Baltimore Bullets and played with the Minnesota Muskies as an ABA rookie before moving to the Floridians. He finished with 2,239 career points, 1,875 rebounds, 329 assists and a .465 shooting percentage. He averaged a career double-double in the pros with 13.2 points and 11.0 rebounds.

3. Mark Sibley, 65, scored 46 points for the Toronto Trailblazers in 1974. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Rockford West scored 1,113 points and averaged 15.7 over three seasons for the Northwestern Wildcats. He was drafted in the fourth round (No. 64 overall) by the Chicago Bulls.

4. Chad Gallagher, 47, never missed a shot in the NBA. The 6-foot-10 center from Boylan was 3-for-3 in two games for the Utah Jazz in 1994. He finished with six points and no rebounds. Gallagher was drafted in the second round (No. 32 overall) by the Phoenix Suns in 1991. He was the MVP of the 1989 Missouri Valley Conference tournament and 1991 regular-season MVP. Gallagher finished with 1,983 points and 891 rebounds at Creighton. He is the all-time leading Division I scorer from the area.

5. Dan Godfread, 49, scored 13 points in 11 games over two seasons with two NBA teams. The 6-foot-10 center from Stillman Valley had 13 points in 10 games with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1991, then was scoreless in one game with the Houston Rockets the next year. He did block an impressive four shots in only 22 minutes of career action. Godfread was not drafted by the NBA, but had 1,386 career points, 737 rebounds and 226 blocked shots at Evansville. He was the all-time leading shot blocker in Midwestern Collegiate Conference history and No. 2 in career field goal percentage (.600).

Former Auburn standout Fred VanVleet has signed a multi-year contract with the Toronto Raptors according to a report from Raptors Republic late Monday night.

According to the report, the contract will contain a partial guarantee, and VanVleet will be in training camp with the team. It’s unclear at this point how much the guarantee is for, or when the deal may officially be signed.

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